Marvel Movies: Josh Brolin Loves the Thanos and Death Storyline

Audiences got their first look at Josh Brolin as Marvel's big bad, The Mad Titan himself, Thanos, when Guardians of the Galaxy opened in theaters last weekend. We know that the character will play a far larger role as the Marvel Cinematic Universe moves forward, but we've heard very little from Brolin himself about taking on the iconic character.

We were able to sit down with the actor recently to talk about his upcoming turn in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For - stay tuned for more on that. During the course of our conversation, we touched on what we can expect from his portrayal of Thanos.

Taking On The Emperor:

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Another thing that I really loved is, they said that they didn't use directors that did music videos and all that in the past. They would always look for people who had done stories.

Thanos is a larger-than-life character and entering the MCU as, what is by all accounts, its preeminent villain is an unusual career move for Brolin.

"That sounds awesome, I love that." Brolin laughed we asked the actor what attracted him to playing the Emperor of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Agreeing that, "It's what he is."

"First and foremost, I have a really good friend who I've known for years who's the co-president of Marvel, Louis D'Esposito.I knew Louis as a first AD, and he's the one who initially called me, and then [producer] Jeremy Latcham. Then I talked to Kevin Feige, ultimately. But there's something about them that's so insular and so geeky and so real. I loved it -- because I've turned down a lot of those types of movies. Not Marvel, but I've turned down a lot of those types of movies. When they started telling me the story about them getting together in Palm Springs, nine of them flipping burgers and talking about what Thanos was going to do and going, 'What do you think?' like, 'Captain America's going to show up here!' Then, 'Oh my God, what if the Hulk came in at that point?' and all that -- I love that sh**. I love it, because those guys are absolutely saturated with that world, and they love story. Another thing that I really loved is, they said that they didn't use directors that did music videos and all that in the past. They would always look for people who had done stories. If you look at James Gunn's oeuvre, he's done even web series, but they're all stories."

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Thanos Vs. Iron Man:

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Once I got on-stage, it sort of became its own improv. I knew at that point, because I saw the rivalry between Robert [Downey Jr.] and I, and I thought, 'I get this. I suddenly really get it.'

As expected, the actor is using the comics as his primary reference point as he crafts the character, but says that he's also thinking about Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando's character in Apocalypse Now) as a source of inspiration, which is a very interesting comparison.

"I start thinking of all those things, but that's after the fact," Brolin explained. "I want to know that these guys are really into what they're doing. It's not just like, 'Oh, Marvel's hot right now. Do you want to do a Marvel thing?' Well, no, I don't want to do a Marvel thing, because that can have the opposite impact, and you can actually work less and people go, 'Oh, why'd you get him for that?' I ask, 'Do I see myself as this thing and could I do this thing?' Not that I'm ever 100-percent sure, but we had constructed this small thing, Kevin Feige and I and Robert, and going on-stage at Comic-Con. Then it became something else. Once I got on-stage, it sort of became its own improv. I knew at that point, because I saw the rivalry between Robert [Downey Jr.] and I, and I thought, 'I get this. I suddenly really get it.' So I feel like I'm more inside it than I was. It was more a display to me before that. It was more cosmetic. Now I think I'm starting to get who the guy is a little bit."

Saying, "It's just, we're both in very different parts of our lives. He's fun. He's smart, and I like playing off of somebody smart, because it's challenging. I like the challenge a lot."

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Brolin Loves Thanos' Relationship With Death:

As fans know, Thanos has a most unusual romance with the physical embodiment of death. Many are wondering if and when that will play out in the Marvel films.

"His relationship with Death, who is actually the woman, I love that," Brolin enthused. "You can take Sin City [in which Brolin plays a man obsessed with a dark-hearted woman] and pump it full of steroids, and then you have Thanos. I like that he's motivated by that -- not just motivated by destruction or death or this or that. He's motivated by a very identifiable, human trait."

Taking On A Multi-Film Arc:

When actors sign on with Marvel, they sign on for the long haul. Certainly that will be the case when it comes to Thanos.

"Having done different series and all that, it's like doing the best series you could ever do," Brolin said when asked if he hesitated to sign on for multiple films. "You know you're taken care of, you know the manifestations are good, you these people are at the top of their game. I've been involved in series where I couldn't wait to play a character and watch the character go through this trajectory, and then you would say, 'Why would you do that?' Like, you're doing that based on a model of what you think people want. 'Oh, we need a love interest now. Oh, we need this.' This is already set up, and it's set up brilliantly. It's like, 'Okay, now how are you going to utilize it in a way that's within Avengers, within Guardians, within that?' I don't know if there's anybody better than them [Marvel Studios]. They understand it. They live it. I can tell you live it too, and it's that kind of a thing. It's like, I'm catching up to you guys, and I love the idea of catching up to somebody.

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When I first said yes, they sent me so much frickin' research. I was in the middle of doing Everest, and I was focusing more on Thanos than I was on Everest.

"You know, there are movies that I've done where I feel like I have a better understanding before I even started than the filmmakers do," Brolin continued. "And that's disconcerting because they're the filmmakers. They're like, 'Well, what do you want to do?' It's like,'What do you mean what do I want to do? What do you want me to do?' We can go back and forth with it, and maybe I'll have my two cents over here and they go, 'Oh my God, that would be great. Even though that's not really a part of Thanos, it would be a great addition to Thanos, to make him even more Thanos,' or bring even more humanity to Thanos -- whatever it is. So I'm in the learning stages that is really exciting. When I first said yes, they sent me so much frickin' research. I was in the middle of doing Everest, and I was focusing more on Thanos than I was on Everest. But it's an exciting prospect, truly."

The actor said he doesn't have the entire picture of Thanos' arc, but he does have "an idea."

Adding, "I know what one appearance is going to be for sure. There's one or two that I don't know."

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A Whole New Marvel World:

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I heard Kevin [Feige] up on stage at Comic-Con and I was like, 'This motherf***er is so smart.'

One of the biggest elements of boarding the ever moving Marvel train is secrecy. When asked if they sat him down with instructions to keep everything under wraps, Brolin said that it doesn't exactly work that way.

"I think they just assume," the actor reflected. "Because they took so long to confirm that I was doing it, that's just the feeling you get. I heard Kevin [Feige] up on stage at Comic-Con -- because I was backstage listening to him -- and I was like, 'This motherf***er is so smart.' He's so good. He's so smart -- and what a great thing. You want to know what I know. What better than to be reaching out for it, because that makes you want it. We have so little of that left. I was talking to Paul Thomas Anderson about Inherent Vice, and they're saying the studio wants to show the publicists and all that, and he was like, 'No, not yet,' because it's like, 'What is it? I want to know what it is.' You want people reaching out for it... It's fun for me, honestly, to see, because I didn't know the severity of it. It's severe. It's a big deal. I was talking to Robert [Downey Jr.] about it 20 minutes before [the Comic Con panel]. We've known each other for a long time, but it was a different conversation. He was just like, 'This is a whole different universe.'"

We can look forward to seeing more from Brolin in that universe in the years and Marvel films to come.

Roth Cornet is an Entertainment Editor for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @RothCornet and IGN at Roth-IGN.